Lisa, 18, whose name was changed for this story, has struggled with Asperger’s syndrome and panic attacks since a young age. She lives with her mother, father and two sisters in Hanson. She and her family work with South Shore Mental Health to help them cope with the emotional strain of dealing with Lisa’s situation and her two sisters, who also have special needs. One sister, 14, has asthma and was diagnosed with an Autism Spectrum Disorder. The other sister, 4, has lung disease. Lisa is in her first year at a local community college and has a passion for languages such as Japanese and Arabic. Her father is a warehouse worker whose salary is the family’s only income. Lisa’s mother worked for an insurance company but was laid off while on maternity leave. The family has been overwhelmed with keeping up with utility, phone and mortgage payments. The family is behind on utility bills and phone service will soon be shut off. The house must be heated because of the 4-year-old’s lung problems and 14-year-old’s asthma. It’s difficult to come up with gas money to get the children to various appointments.

Utility, gasoline bills

For Lisa’s mother, one of the most difficult things is having to see her 14-year-old home tutored while she deals with the school system to have her placed in a specialized school for children on the Autism Spectrum. That and the difficulty of meeting the family’s basic financial needs has taken a toll. Money from Lend a Hand would allow the family to get caught up with the utility bills, allow the family to pay for gas needed to get to medical appointments, pay the phone bill and buy warm clothes for the children.

Source: Information for this story was provided by South Shore Mental Health.